After Juan Carlos steps down, Spaniards say: ‘No more kings’

The end of a historic day in Spain ended with an estimated 10,000 on their feet Monday evening in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol, waving the republican flag and chanting slogans such as “Viva La Republica” and “Spain, tomorrow, will be a republic.” Across the city and the country, the scene was repeated. In Barcelona, some 5,000 reportedly gathered in Plaza Catalunya de Barcelona.

Monday was the day 76-year-old King Juan Carlos abdicated the Spanish throne to his 46-year-old son Felipe, one of the few in the royal family untouched by scandal.

But for the young, old and families gathered across those plazas — historic gathering places for demonstrations and celebrations — the message was clear: The right of a bloodline to the throne should not supersede the right of a people to decide. And what many in Spain are clearly asking for now is a referendum on whether the country’s still-young democracy has outgrown its ancient monarchy.

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A familiar sight here in the Puerta del Sol on Monday evening was the flag that that largely came to life under the Second Spanish Republic — and many demonstrators came waving or wrapping themselves in huge nylon replicas. For those unfamiliar with Spanish history, the flag came into use 13 days after municipal elections led to the abolition of the monarchy and the declaration of the Second Republic in 1931, and it was the official flag until dictator Francisco Franco rose to power at the end of the 1930s. Its modern use has been largely relegated to trade unions and left-wing political organizations.

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The roots of the Spanish monarchy reach back to the 5th century, and the relationship between the royals and the people of Spain has been fierce and tenuous since then, with abdications and forced exiles along the way. Juan Carlos’s own father was pushed into exile when the Second Spanish Republic was born, and he himself was brought back by Franco in 1969 as head of state in waiting. He became king in 1975, the first reigning monarch since 1931.

While Franco and his supporters wanted Juan Carlos to carry on the dictatorship, the king chose the path of democracy instead. Juan Carlos gets credit for that, but has also always been a sore reminder to many Spaniards that they were never allowed to choose whether or not to restore that monarchy.

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Among those in the Madrid throng Monday was Santiago Vega Sombria, a historian who has written several books about the Franco era and the Second Republic.

“The best part of all this,” said Vega Sombria, waving an enormous republican flag as he gestured to the crowds, “is that in all of Spain tonight, there are many people out.”

Vega Sombria said he is hopeful that, this time, after all the protests seen in Spain in recent years — mostly linked to austerity and cuts in public services, and largely unsuccessful — the people will be heard. A referendum on the future of the monarchy may be tough to bring about, as it’s believed both leading political parties would oppose it.

“Many people in the street are not in agreement with how things are organized at the top. The king just passes the throne to his son, and no one asks anything. … He’s been in power 39 years, with no questions asked,” said Vega Sombria.

Monday night wasn’t the first time crowds had gathered to demand a democratically elected head of state, rather than a bloodline acendancy. Protests were seen as recently as April.

Not helping the monarchist case, the royal family has been ensnared in a litany of scandals: The king himself was skewered for going on an expensive elephant-hunting trip in 2012 as the country grappled with a severe economic downturn. Unemployment in Spain remains among the highest in Europe, atop 26%.

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The Spanish royal family itself has a budget this year of 7.78 million euros — a sum many protesters say could be used for worthier causes. How much will Juan Carlos get in his retirement? “Enough to maintain elephants,” joked Vega Sombria’s colleague, Silvia Medina.

“It’s a medieval inheritance,” argued Medina. “I pass to my son, who passes to his son, who passes to his son? It’s medieval.”

In other European countries, the historians said, systems have evolved to keep up with the times.

“In other countries, the royal families adapt to democratic times, and it’s more consensual,” said Vega Sombria, whereas, he again emphasized, the Spanish people haven’t had a say in 39 years, even as, according to the historians, the only people who want a royal family in Spain are the equally rich.

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